Grandma's Bread Jan 2008

February 2008, trying again, with some minor adjustments:

1. Reducing initial water a little bit, by 1/4 cup.
2. Add rye flour all at once to fermentation mixture

Makes 2 loaves

2 c. buttermilk
1.25 c. water
1.5 lb. rye flour, unsifted

2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
1 tbsp. unbleached white flour
1/2 c. warm water (120 degrees)

1.5 lb. (24 0z) + 1 oz (25 oz total) unbleached white flour, unsifted
4 tbsp. gluten
1/2 c. honey
1-1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. melted butter

1. Over medium-low heat, warm buttermilk and water, stirring occasionally, just until it curdles and remove from heat. Stir in 1.5 lb. rye flour, cover tightly and leave in warm place. Or, refrigerate and bring back to room temperature before continuing

2. The next day, combine yeast, 1 tbsp. flour, and warm water, and stir to dissolve. Let sit for 5 minutes until yeast mixture gets bubbly.

3. Into dough mixture, add yeast mixture, honey, gluten and salt. Stir in 1.5 lb. of white flour until mixture is uniform. It's a lot of dough, too much for the small stand mixer to handle!

4. Take entire dough and add dough to mixer set to "1" or "2" (low speed), and knead with dough hook. You will need to clean the dough hook a number of times at the beginning (every 30 seconds or so), because the dough will bunch up, even over the top of the dough hook. Add 1 oz of flour during process to reduce sticking. After a couple of minutes, it will stop sticking. Total kneading time should be about 5-7 minutes.

6. Grease two bread pans with butter, and dust them with rye flour. Shape dough into loaves and place in bread pans. Cover with towel, and leave in warm place to rise for 2-2.75 hours or until approximately doubled in bulk.

7. Preheat oven to 375, and adjust racks to put bread on lowest rack. Brush tops with butter, and place bread pans on pizza stone on lowest rack in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.

8. Take bread from oven, remove from pans, and brush tops with remaining butter. Drape with damp cloth while they cool. This supposedly will help keep the crust from separating from the dough.

9. Store in large Ziploc freezer bags when cool; this will help promote a soft crust.

UPDATE 12-24-2007: technically it looks perfect. Sides of bread "exploded" near the top, which has previously been typical. We'll see what the texture is when we taste it tonight, hopefully not gummy and/or undercooked.

Chowhound; repurposing dinner

I like the Chowhound site. I came across it a year or two ago, but just looking at it more today. They have a bunch of great tips in th "Chow Tips" video, such as:

• Pomegranate seeds: to remove, cut the pomegranate in 1/2, and whack the rind using a wooden spoon (cut side facing down over a sieve or bowl); the seeds will just fall into the bowl/sieve!
• Tempering chocolate: to stabilize chocolate to keep it shiny & glossy, like a candy bar. Must be accurate. Heat 3/4 lb of chocolate in double boiler to 118 degrees. Cool to 80 degrees over an ice bath by adding remaining 1/4 lb. Rewarm to 85-87 degrees for milk chocolate, 88-91 for dark chocolate. Now coat: put item into chocolate with fork, pull it out, scrape it, and onto parchment.
  

Also enjoying "repurposed" meals this week, i.e., using leftovers and/or parts of meals to create something new and delicious! For example:

Sunday brunch: Spanish tortilla with aioli
Sunday dinner: Tri-tip, mashed potatoes, and arugula salad
Tonight's dinner: Tri-tip sandwich with Point Reyes blue cheese, aioli, dijon and arugula on baguette, with arugula salad on the side. Yum!

german dumplings

I thought I had some Panni mix, but I didn't, and I decided to make turkey soup with Bavarian potato dumplings tonight for dinner tonight. So here's the recipe I improvised.

2 medium yellow potatoes
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup potato starch
1.5 tsp salt
Grated nutmeg (just a dash)
Stock or water

1. Scrub and rinse potatoes, and poke holes in them.
2. Microwave potatoes on high for about 7 minutes.
3. Place them in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, and let them sit for 10 minutes. Then dump then into a bowl full of ice water to cool them
4. Peel and then rice the potatoes in a potato ricer
5. Meanwhile, Bring stock or water to a high boil in a large pot
   
6. Add flour, starch, salt and nutmeg. Knead for 3-5 minutes until even. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest about 10 minutes.
7. Form mixture into 6-8 large, smooth balls.
   
8. Lower them carefully into the boiling water/stock, and reduce heat to a simmer
9. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, or till they float to the top. Take one out and test it (cut it in half, and make sure it is cooked through).
10. Remove and serve with meat + gravy; or, add the ones you want to use to a soup.
11. Store remaining dumplings outside of any liquid. For example, slice them up the next day and cook them in some butter.
    

Results

• Dough came together & held together perfectly in the stock with no disintegration
  
• Good texture:, a bit soft, no graininess (might be desirable), extremely even texture
• Nice hint of nutmeg flavor
• Not sure if texture would work for Lithuanian cepelinai, a little too soft and smooth
  

For Next Time

• Try steaming/boiling the potatoes to determine effect on texture
• Try a bit less flour (maybe 1/4 cup?)
  

grandmas bread 2007

It's that time of year again, here we go:

Makes 2 loaves

2 c. buttermilk
1.5 c. water
1 lb. + 1/2 lb. rye flour, unsifted (1.5 lb. total)

1 lb. + 1/2 lb. (8 0z) + 1 oz (25 oz total) unbleached white flour, unsifted

2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
1 tbsp. unbleached white flour
1/2 c. warm water (120 degrees)
4 tbsp. gluten

1/2 c. honey
1-1/2 tsp. salt

4 tbsp. melted butter

1. Over medium-low heat, warm buttermilk and water, stirring occasionally, just until it curdles and remove from heat. Stir in 1 lb. rye flour, cover tightly and leave in warm place. Or, refrigerate and bring back to room temperature before continuing

2. The next day, combine yeast, 1 tbsp. flour, and warm water, and stir to dissolve. Let sit for 5 minutes until yeast mixture gets bubbly.

3. Into dough mixture, add yeast mixture, honey, gluten and salt. Stir in remaining 1/2 pound of rye flour, and stir in 1 lb. of white flour until mixture is uniform. It's a lot of dough, too much for the small stand mixer to handle!

4. Take entire dough and add dough to mixer set to "1" or "2" (low speed), and knead with dough hook, grad aduallyding 1/2 lb. of white flour. You will need to clean the dough hook a number of times at the beginning (every 30 seconds or so), because the dough will bunch up, even over the top of the dough hook. Add 1 oz of flour during process to reduce sticking. After a couple of minutes, it will stop sticking. Total kneading time should be about 5-7 minutes.

6. Grease two bread pans with butter, and dust them with rye flour. Shape dough into loaves and place in bread pans. Cover with towel, and leave in warm place to rise for 2-2.75 hours or until approximately doubled in bulk.

7. Preheat oven to 375, and adjust racks to put bread on lowest rack. Brush tops with butter, and place bread pans on pizza stone on lowest rack in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when tapped.

8. Take bread from oven, remove from pans, and brush tops with remaining butter. Drape with damp cloth while they cool. This supposedly will help keep the crust from separating from the dough.

9. Store in large Ziploc freezer bags when cool; this will help promote a soft crust.

UPDATE 12-24-2007: technically it looks perfect. Sides of bread "exploded" near the top, which has previously been typical. We'll see what the texture is when we taste it tonight, hopefully not gummy and/or undercooked.

Thanksgiving Feast

Here's what's on th menu for today:

1. 16 lb roast turkey (no stuffing, stuffed with thyme, lemon, and onion)
2. roasted garlic mashed potatoes
3. grilled sweet potatoes (boiled first, then grilled) with tangerine bourbon glaze
4. green beans
5. roasted brussel sprouts with pancetta
6. butternut squash and apple soup
7. cranberry sauce
8. gravy
9. Beckey's family sausage stuffing
10. brandied white onions

Turkey went in at 1145a, should take around 3-4hours or so.

Last night:

1. Beckey made stuffing (what a production!)
2. Made soup base (cooked but didn't puree); will reheat and puree today

This morning:

1. Beckey made cranberry sauce
2. We roasted the garlic
3. I boiled and cooled the sweet potatoes, put em in the fridge
4. I made the glaze
   

It all came together quickly then:

1. Brussel sprouts prepped and cooked and covered on the table
   
2. Green beans prepped
3. Stuffing in the oven
4. Set the table
5. Heat soup
6. Sweet potatoes cut, grilled, dressed, plated and covered
   
7. Onions cooked and into oven
   
8. Green beans cooked
   
9. Remove turkey and onions, let turkey rest
   
10. Carve and plate turkey, cover and
    
11. Remove stuffing from oven
    
12. Finish gravy
    
13. Finish and plate soup
14. Eat! and reeeelaaaaax....
    

Tangerine Bourbon Glaze (made this up myself)

• 1/2 c chicken stock, homemade or low sodium preferred
  
• 4 heaping tbsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 c bourbon or whiskey
  
• dash worcheshire sauce
• dash soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp minced tangerine peels
• 2 tb. butter

Combine stock, sugar, pepper, worcheshire, soy in small stockpot, whisk and bring to a simmer. Reduce for 15 minutes. Add tangerine peel. Continue to simmer until reduced to 1/2 of original volume, and has a glaze-y consistency (should coat back of a spoon).

Remove from heat, and whisk in 2 tbsp. butter. Adjust seasonings as necesary.

Thanksgiving Feast

Here's what's on the menu for today:

16 lb roast turkey (no stuffing, stuffed with thyme, lemon, and onion)
mashed potatoes
grilled sweet potatoes (boiled first, then grilled) with tangerine bourbon glaze
green beans
brussel sprouts
squash soup

hash browns

Was at Grizzly Manor Cafe in Big Bear, CA over the weekend. Sat strategically at the bar so I could see the cook prepping all the breakfast on a giant 5-burner griddle. This place has HUGE pancakes the size of a plate, big servings, local attitude, and reasonable prices.

Here's what I learned:

Omelette/Eggs: Chef scrambles in bowl, pours out as a flat sheet onto the griddle, about the size of a dinner plate. It bubbles up and cooks pretty fast. In the middle, he adds a pile of ham, a handful of cheese, then using two grill spatulas, flips the sides up on top. Total process was maybe 1-2 minutes.

Hash browns: hash browns come frozen in a transparent 1 or 2 gallon-sized plastic bag. Looks like potatoes, grated on the big holes on the grater into approx. 1.5" x 1/8" grated strips. Hard to tell, but it's possible that they were par-boiled in this form, then flash frozen. In any case, potatoes are as white as a sheet of paper. In any case, chef mashes the frozen bag to loosen them up, then pours them out on the griddle, evening them out into a fairly thin later, no more than 1" thick (easy to do on a giant griddle with a lot of surface area). Then using a ladle, pours what looks like oil or clarified butter (about 7 ladles full) over the mass. Flips the hash using two grill spatulas, as necessary, when it begins to brown.

Had sushi last Friday. I've become much more of a yellowtail fan: it tastes smooth, lightly buttery (not as much as tuna or salmon) and precisely clean. Yum!

Lentils revisited

I have a newfound love for lentils. Ever since I made that lentil dish with bacon from the San Francisco Chronicle cookbook, I've enjoyed their earthy flavor and creamy texture. I've become much more of a legumes fan lately: chickpeas and white beans, both hot and cold, have been in quite a few recipes over the last few months. Maybe a cassoulet is in my near future! In place of the chorizo, you can sub kielbasa. Thanks ATK cookbook for another great recipe

Spanish-Style Lentils with Chorizo, Morcilla and Swiss Chard
Serves 4-6
Total prep time:15 minutes
Cooking Time:60 minutes
Total time:1hr 15min

1+1 tbsp olive oil
8 oz. spanish chorizo, sliced into rounds, 8 rounds reserved
8 oz. morcilla sausage (spanish rice sausage)
1 onion, minced
1 bunch Swiss chard, rinsed and separated: stalks sliced into 3/4" pieces, leaves sliced into 3/4" ribbons
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 tsp. sweet Spanish paprika (agridulce) or hot Spanish paprika (picante)
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1.5 c. chicken stock
1.5 c. water

1 tsp. fresh thyme, chopped
2 scallions, thinly sliced into rings

1. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp. oil and sausage, and cook for 5 minutes to brown slightly and release some oil. Remove sausage.
2. Add remaining oil, onion and chard stalks, and saute for 5 minutes until soft. Add garlic, saute for 15 seconds, add paprika, chili powder and thyme and saute for 15 more seconds.
3. Add lentils, tomatoes, chicken stock and water to pot. Bring to boil, turn heat to low, cover, and cook for about 35 minutes. Lentils should already be a bit soft, with a tiny bit of tooth.
4. Add chard leaves and stir just to combine. Nestle sausage back into pot, cover, and cook covered over low heat for 10 more minutes.
5. Adjust salt, pepper and seasonings to taste. Serve with some crusty bread to sop up the sauce.

Pulled pork again

Had a pork shoulder in the fridge, started to smell a bit, but decided to cook it anyway last night.

Rinsed it well, let it soak in a brine bath (with a bit of sugar) for 30 minutes, which seemed to lessen the smell (will have to try the lemon juice or vinegar trick for the same thing in the future).

Did the Wolfgang Puck rub, covered with foil, put in the oven overnight (8-9 hours or so) at 205 degrees. In the morning (about 830a), internal temp hit around 195, which is good. Uncovered it for about 30 minutes at 205 degrees to help a bit with some crust formation & help dry it out, then threw it in the fridge. Will heat it up tonight to finish, for maybe 1 hour covered, we'll see how it turns out! Hopefully it's not totally spoiled, and if so, oh well, $7 down the drain.

UPDATE 9/10: turned out great! Totally delicious. Beckey really liked it this time. Ate them on roasted garlic bread with tomatoes and mayo (wish I had cabbage and mayo for coleslaw!) Made two custom sauces to go along:

Vinegar sauce:

• 1/2c. apple cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• Pinch of red chili flakes
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• Few dashes Tabasco
• Few dashes worcheshire
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
  
• 2-3 drops of liquid smoke
• 1 tsp. pork rub
• Process: combine all, bring to a boil and remove from heat
  

Pan sauce:

• Pan drippings, cooled and skimmed of fat
• Splash of vinegar sauce
• 1 tsp. Garlic powder
• 1 tsp. Onion powder
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
  
• Process: combine all and heat to a simmer, reduce volume by 1/2. Add extra water/stock if too salty.

My Puck Rub recipe, lest I forget it:

4 tb brown sugar
4 tb onion powder
4 tb garlic powder
4 tb thyme
4 tb oregano
2 tb mild paprika
2 tb hot paprika
4 tsp cayenne
4 tsp ground coriander
4 tsp ground pepper
2 tb kosher salt
1 tb dry mustard

Mix to combine.

wonton soup revisited

Made wonton soup last night, as I felt a bit of post-nasal drip, and was tired and sluggish. Well, seems to have worked. Wonton soup is easy, esp. if you have made/purchased frozen wontons in advance. I especially liked this week's version, and I just got to eat some leftovers for lunch. Buillion cubes were a short-cut; you can certainly use chicken stock instead, but you may need to adjust the salt.

Wonton Soup Revisited
Serves 4

1 box low sodium chicken stock
2 cups + 1 cup water
2 chicken buillion cubes (I use Knorr)
3 scallions: green parts cut into 1" nuggets, white parts finely chopped
1.5 tbsp. garlic, minced
2-3 ginger "coins", smashed with flat side of knife
Pinch of red pepper flakes
2 cups broccoli rabe leaves, washed and cut across the leaf into 1" strips
2 slices ham, cut into 1/4" ribbons
1 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil (optional); I prefer Spectrum Organics to Kadoya
12-16 frozen won-tons

1. In a large pot, add chicken stock, and 2 cups water.
2. Bring to a boil, and add buillion cubes, scallions, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes, and boil for about 2 minutes, until buillon cubes dissolve.
3. Add broccoli leaves and ham, and boil for 1 minute.
4. Add frozen wontons all at once + 1/2 cup water + soy sauce.
5. Over high heat, bring soup back up to a boil, stirring once or twice, then add remaining 1/2 cup water, remove from heat, and cover.
6. Let sit covered off of the heat for 10 minutes, when wontons will be fully cooked.
7. Season with additional soy sauce, salt and pepper as desired.

sourdough returns

I've been feeding my sourdough starter since sometime late December/early January. I had leftover buttermilk which I started to make grandma's bread with, then ended up with starter.

I baked and brought my first sourdough loaf to June Lake for Zach's birthday trip. It was pretty good, here's the test batch recipe.

My First Sourdough Loaf

1 lb. bread flour
1/2 cup starter
1 tbsp. sugar
3/4-1 cup water
1 tsp salt

1. Combine all but salt in mixer bowl with dough hook. Knead for 2 minutes on low.
2. Add salt, and mix for 3 minutes on low.
3. Turn in oiled bowl, wrap in plastic wrap and leave in warm place to rise overnight (or 4 hours).
4. Bake at 375 for 40 minutes.

Pros:

• nice sourdough tang
• springy, soft loaf
• small but even, springy/chewy crumb
• Baked through (not damp)

Cons:

• Crust didn't brown
• Heavy/dense loaf (could be more springy)

So I was reading on this nice sourdough-related web site (http://www.schoolofbaking.com/dough_tips.htm) to try some different proportions for different loaves. Here are some tips:

To obtain large crumb:

• Lower amount of yeast
• Longer fermentation/rise time

OK, so this time I will try:

1. 100% flour (16oz aka 1 lb. by weight)
2. 30% of flour weight starter (5oz by weight)
3. 1.8% of flour weight salt (0.28oz salt)
4. Enough water (to keep dough soft)
5. 1 tbsp. sugar

slow cooking smells

The whole house smells like fejoida.

Soaked 2 pounds of black beans starting last night. Started cooking when I got home. Here was the process.

1. Drain down liquid covering beans until about 1/2 inch over beans (reserve at least 1 cup of bean liquid). Put on medium heat.
2. Cut up 2lb. pork clod into 1" cubes. Season with salt n pepper.
3. In a large pot with olive oil, sear pork pieces on each side for 2 minutes.
4. Add pork to beans, along with 2 bay leaves.
5. In same pot, add bacon chopped into 1" pieces.
6. Once bacon is getting a bit crispy, season beef stew pieces (about 1-1.5 lb) and sear in same pot like pork. Remove meat and add to beans, leaving grease in pot.
7. Chop up 3-4 medium onions. Add to pot and saute for 5-7 minutes, until softened. Add rough chopped garlic, as much as you like, stir for 30 seconds. Add some cumin, red pepper flakes and paprika, and stir for 30 seconds. Add wine or sherry to deglaze pan.
8. Add onions to beans, stir to combine.
9. Bring beans to a simmer, and reduce heat to low to maintain a slow simmer.
10. Fill 1/2 in. water in a pan (or use the same "meat pot" from previous).
11. Place water over high heat, and add chorizo (in natural casing, from your butcher).
12. Bring water to a simmer, and simmer chorizo 10 minutes, flip, and simmer 10 more minutes (20 min total)
13. Cut chorizo into 1/2" rounds, and add to beans. Stir to combine.
14. Cover beans and let simmer for at least 3 hours.
15. Serve with rice, couve (collard greens sauteed with garlic), slices of orange, and maybe some caipirinha!

What else? While this was cooking, I threw together a portabello mushroom risotto in my cast iron pan in less than 20 min! Super easy, I have to remember how easy risotto is! My first time cooking with portabellos, very meaty & delicious.

projects

Been working on several food projects:

Slow roasted pork: Tresierras had a good deal on some mystery pork roast at 99c per pound, so I bought it, rubbed it with spices per my Wolfgang Puck rub recipe, and roasted it @ 300 degrees in the oven. The meat was almost 3 pounds, which makes me estimate that at that temperature, 3 lbs will take about 3-4 hours to roast to "falling apart" status. Turned out delicious! Nice to use those aluminum roasting pans for convenience.

Vinegar: I've been reading about making homemade vinegar, so I went out and bought some unpasteurized, unfiltered vinegar from the local health foods store. I chose Bragg's brand, although there were several others, but all as apple cider vinegar. Anyway, the idea is to combine the vinegar with leftover wine to make wine vinegar, both red and white wine. We'll see how it goes.

Sourdough starter: so I'm trying to make some sourdough bread. I started with my grandma's bread recipe, and have let the mixture ferment for over a week, feeding it flour & water 2x daily. I ended up taking a cup off that mixture, starting another batch to make it less sour. Then I took a cup of that and added it to a regular bread recipe. We'll see how it turns out. The "batter" tastes sour, but I wonder if the yeast in it is active enough to give it sufficient lift (I somehow doubt it). Flour makes for cheap food experiments, nonetheless.

Greek salad: my friends Dale and Leah were recounting their trip to Greece yesterday and telling me about their "Greek salad" experience. Unlike in the U.S., that salad has no lettuce in it. It contains: chopped cucumbers, chopped tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, a thick piece of feta cheese doused in olive oil and oregano. Sounds pretty damn good to me. I've always thought American "greek salad", including the kind my mom makes, as somewhat insipid.

Caramelized onions: made a nice caramelized onion "jam" last week by slow cooking 3 onions in olive oil with salt & pepper until meltingly soft, then adding a tablespoon or two of good balsamic vinegar and cooking that down. Deee-licious.

Well, enough foodie ramblings for today.

Grandma's bread update

OK, so some things I learned:

After the bread cools down almost completely, store it in a plastic bag. The extra moisture that gets released will actually make the crust softer.

That said, the crust should still be softer.

I just had some of that bread yesterday, which has been stored in my fridge in a large Ziploc bag since I made it, and it was totally delicious and still moist, but not wet, with no sign of mold anywhere.

Yum!

grandmas bread 2006

Made the bread today, per last years recipe, with some modifications:

1. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hr 20 minutes (this was grandma's original specification)
2. Made 3 loaves of bread with total dough batch
3. Mix all ingredients, then split in 2 and knead in mixer; to each batch, add 4oz of flour
4. Brush tops with melted butter before baking
5. Brush tops with melted butter after baking

Results:

1. Kneaded dough was still tacky, but not dry; probably just about perfect.
2. Nice tender crumb, good lift & texture, not gummy/wet/sticky, but could use a more defined structure (springy with lots of little air holes is optimum)
3. Crust was too thick and hard; needs to be more chewy

To try next time:

1. Try baking at 375 degrees for less time (see #2)
2. Try 375 temp with 35 to 45 minutes baking time, or until loaf sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
3. Try placing loaves on baking stone on lowest shelf

Some info on Rye Flour (from the Baking 911 site):

"Using rye flour yields baked goods that are moist and dense, with a slightly sour flavor. The gluten in rye is similar in character to the gluten in pastry flour, which is low, so it is often used in combination with wheat flour (bread flour or all-purpose). The wheat flour is included in order to make a gluten structure strong enough to form a framework that will hold the gases released from the yeast.

Light rye flour can be successfully substituted for 40 percent of wheat flour in a recipe without loss of volume. Medium and dark rye flours should be limited to 30 percent and 20 percent, respectively, of the total flour amount.

Rye flour also has a much higher percentage of carbohydrate gums, which make rye dough stickier to work with than wheat, so don't add extra flour when kneading. On the up side, the substances which yield the sugars in rye that the yeast feeds on, break down very easily so they usually ferment well."

Woodenhead

I really like Woodenhead wines.

One of the best wines I ever had, in fact. A very memorable dinner with my lady featured this Woodenhead wine:

2001 Braccialini Vineyards Zinfandel, Alexander Valley. Medium dark ruby, fragrant, wild berry, anise, pumpkin pie spice and sage on the nose. Sweet blackberry, vanilla, cedar, spice and anise on the palate. Very forward, very big and rich, powerful, full-bodied, yet elegant. Killer juice! Alc. 16.8%, 417 cases produced.

Looking at it now, wow, very high alcohol! But it was hands down, "killer", absolutely delicious!

freezing infrequently used items

Some great tips for freezing things. Certain things freeze really well, and are convenient to use in small amounts:

• Pesto
• Pureed chipotle en adobo
• Chicken stock
• Tomato paste

For things that are really runny (like chicken stock), I pour the liquid into ice cube trays, freeze them, then pop it out into a freezer bag, from which I can get a few cubes as needed. Even better: if you measure out how much liquid goes into each ice cube, you'll know exactly how much to add to your dish!

For things that are really thick (like tomato paste), I cover a small plate or cookie sheet with parchment, spoon out some ice-cube sized globs and let them freeze, then bag 'em up as well.

Certain other fresh or prepared foods freeze really well:

• meatballs
• won tons or other dumplings
• certain fresh berries
• fresh peppers (red, green, even jalapenos!)

"da best" roast chicken

This is a roast chicken I made a few weeks ago, based on Tyler Florence's "Ultimate Chicken" recipe. The pan sauce is especially delicious!

Roast Chicken with Pan Sauce

5 cloves garlic, minced + 1/2 head garlic, trimmed so cloves are exposed
1/4 lb. butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 orange
2 onions, peeled and halved
1/2 bunch each: Fresh oregano, thyme and parsley
6 strips bacon (optional; I didn't use them)
1 roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Preheast oven to 425 F.

Remove giblets (liver, gizzard, etc.) from chicken cavity and save, if desired (gizzard is good for stock!). Rinse inside and outside of chicken well. Pat dry with paper towels, and set aside.

Finely chop 1/2 of herbs (oregano, thyme and parsley). Add herbs and minced garlic to butter, and mash together thoroughly.

Take some of the butter/herb mixture, and stuff it under the skin of the chicken. Take the remaining butter and rub it all over the outside of the chicken. Season inside cavity and outside with salt & pepper.

Stuff cavity with orange, garlic head, 1 halved onion, and remaining herbs. Tie legs together, and place in roasting pan. Add remaining onion and garlic cloves to pan.

Place bacon across the top of the chicken.

Roast for 25 minutes; then remove bacon, baste and cook for at least 25 minutes more, or until the internal temperature of the chicken meat reaches 165 degrees.

Remove from oven, tent with aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

Meanwhile, prepare Pan Sauce.

Pan Sauce

Roasting pan drippings
2 tbsp. flour
1.5 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup sherry

Skim excess fat from roasting pan drippings (there will be a good amount of fat, due to the butter and chicken fat). Remove onion and garlic from pan.

Heat roasting pan on the stove, add flour to form a paste, and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in chicken broth, and heat until bubbly. Add sherry and cook for about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Carve the breasts off the chicken, serve (as I did) with twice baked potatoes and garlic green beans. Freeze the carcass to make and/or fortify chicken stock later.

TO DO (next time)

1. Beckey thought is was totally delicious, but would like more garlic
2. Skim that gravy fat! It wasn't terrible, but the gravy was a tiny bit greasy.
3. You can really taste the sherry in the gravy. Reduce the quantity if it bothers you. Or, maybe add sherry first (to let it cook off), then flour, then stock.

UPDATE 2007-09-10

More tips:

Pour off fat completely. Use less sherry. Use sherry to deglaze cooking pan FIRST before adding flour. I think the sherry flavor is a bit strong. Or, try using a non-sherry wine, like a sauvignon blanc.

blue cheese for wings

So I've seen a lot of recipes for blue cheese dressing/dip for chicken wings, and every one of them involves mayonnaise. I tried using Miracle Whip (we didn't have mayo), and I abhor the sickly sweet flavor it provides. Might be fine for sandwiches, not for blue cheese dip.

So after some experimenting, I came up with one that appears to work pretty well.

Blue Cheese Dip

4oz of mild blue cheese, such as Danish Rosenborg, crumbled
1/4 cup plain yogurt
16oz (1 tub) sour cream
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp freshly ground pepper
2 tsp. thyme, dried
1 tsp. oregano, dried
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. white (or white wine) vinegar

In a large bowl, mash blue cheese and yogurt with fork. Combine yogurt mixture with remaining ingredients, and stir thoroughly. Adjust salt & pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to have flavors blend together. Serve with carrot sticks and fried chicken wings.

FOR NEXT TIME:
try increasing vinegar to 2 tsp or 1 tbsp.

Orange-Flavored Chicken

This recipe is courtesy of America's Test Kitchen. I'm always on the hunt for the best orange chicken recipes, and ATK has yet to really let me down in terms of overall recipe quality.

"We prefer the flavor and texture of thigh meat for this recipe, though an equal amount of boneless skinless chicken breasts can be used. It is easiest to grate the orange zest and remove the strips of orange peel before juicing the oranges; use a sharp vegetable peeler to remove the strips. For extra spiciness, increase the cayenne added to the sauce to 1/2 teaspoon. The whole dried chiles are added for appearance, not for flavor, and can be omitted. To fry the chicken, use a Dutch oven or a straight-sided sauté pan (with at least 3-quart capacity); do not use a 12-inch skillet with sloped sides, as it will be too small to contain the oil once the chicken is added. White rice and steamed broccoli are good accompaniments. "

Serves 4

Marinade and Sauce
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs , trimmed and cut in 1 1/2-inch pieces
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup orange juice , plus 1 1/2 teaspoons grated zest, and 8 strips orange peel (each about 2 inches long by 1/2 inch wide) from 2 oranges
6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (3 1/2 ounces)
3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
1 piece fresh ginger (about 1 inch), grated (1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch , plus 2 teaspoons
2 tablespoons water (cold)
8 small whole dried red chiles (optional)
Coating and Frying Medium
3 large egg whites
1 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups peanut oil

1. FOR THE MARINADE AND SAUCE: Place chicken in 1-gallon zipper-lock bag; set aside. Combine chicken broth, orange juice, grated zest, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, and cayenne in large saucepan (with at least 3-quart capacity); whisk until sugar is fully dissolved. Measure out 3/4 cup mixture and pour into bag with chicken; press out as much air as possible and seal bag, making sure that all pieces are coated with marinade. Refrigerate 30 to 60 minutes, but no longer.


2. Bring remaining mixture in saucepan to boil over high heat. In small bowl, stir together cornstarch and cold water; whisk cornstarch mixture into sauce. Simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, until thick and translucent, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in orange peel and chiles (sauce should measure 1 1/2 cups); set sauce aside.


3. FOR THE COATING: Place egg whites in pie plate; using fork, beat until frothy. In second pie plate, whisk cornstarch, cayenne, and baking soda until combined. Drain chicken in colander or large mesh strainer; thoroughly pat chicken dry with paper towels. Place half of chicken pieces in egg whites and turn to coat; transfer pieces to cornstarch mixture and coat thoroughly. Place dredged chicken pieces on wire rack set over baking sheet; repeat with remaining chicken.


4. TO FRY THE CHICKEN: Heat oil in 11- to 12-inch Dutch oven or straight-sided sauté pan with at least 3-quart capacity over high heat until oil registers 350 degrees on instant-read or deep-fry thermometer. Carefully place half of chicken in oil one piece at a time; fry until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning each piece with tongs halfway through cooking. Transfer chicken to large plate lined with paper towels. Return oil to 350 degrees and repeat with remaining chicken.


5. TO SERVE: Reheat sauce over medium heat until simmering, about 2 minutes. Add chicken and gently toss until evenly coated and heated through. Serve immediately.

Secrets to great orange chicken (according to ATK):

1. Soy-orange marinade keeps chicken juicy.
2. Patting marinated chicken dry helps chicken adhere.
3. Beaten egg white acts as "glue," securing coating to chicken.
4. Cornstarch and baking soda coating fries up golden and crisp.
5. Frying in peanut oil produces chicken with fresh, clean flavor.